South metro school briefs

Weigh in on proposed boundary changes The Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District is holding public forums this month on proposed changes in elementary school attendance boundaries.

One will be held Thursday on the upper level of the Senior Campus Commons at the Diamondhead Education Center in Burnsville. Another will take place next Tuesday in Room 109 of Metcalf Junior High School. Both will run from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

At each, Superintendent Randy Clegg will briefly summarize the boundary changes that have been recommended to the school board by a task force of community members. Then participants can ask questions and make comments.

The recommendations are also available on the district's website, www.isd191.org, where viewers can send an e-mail to all school board members at once. The board members also check a shared voice mailbox at 952-707-2006.

The district estimates that about 775 students would be affected if the proposed boundary changes go into effect this fall.

Cedar Park teacher wins science award A teacher at Cedar Park Elementary, a STEM magnet school in Apple Valley, has earned honors from the National Science Teachers Association.

Cathy Kindem, an intermediate science specialist, has won the 2010 Sylvia Shugrue Award for Elementary Teachers. The award honors a teacher who has developed an interdisciplinary, inquiry-based lesson plan.

College advice for disabled students A presentation at Rosemount High School on Friday will offer advice for families of students with disabilities who want to enroll in college.

Lisa King, a disabilities specialist in higher education, will speak at the event, which runs from 4 to 6 p.m. in the school's student center addition.

For more information, call the District 196 special education department at 651-423-7628.

DCTC endowment will help students with emergency needs Spurred by the prospect of a matching grant, Dakota County Technical College (DCTC) has established a new "Endowment for Employment" fund to help raise money for students in need.

The college aims to raise $800,000 in donations for student emergency grants -- one-time awards to help students get through a financial hardship.

For more information about the endowment, contact DCTC Vice President Sharon LaComb at 651-423-8293 or sharon.lacomb@dctc.edu.